Design for a north facing garden
Rona Gray
7 years ago
Hi, I am trying to come up with ideas for plants and bulbs, with not too many shrubs, which flower at different times but throughout as much of the year as possible; small veggie patches would be good too. The back garden forms part of a new property and for the first few months I plan to leave it in grass to establish which parts of it get sun at various times of the day/seasons. Maybe I leave it for a year? There's normally snow and temperatures can get as low as -25 degrees in winter; summer can be as warm as +25 degrees but not very often. It's approximately 400 metres above sea level and can suffer from strong winds from surrounding mountains. I love the idea of restricting colours to a small number e.g. blue and white with leaves of contrasting shapes and textures.
At the moment my biggest stumbling block is how to add shape and character on a very small budget. Ideas very gratefully received :)
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Rona Gray
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Help with kitchen colours/ design in north / north west facing room??!
Comments (2)Hi! We have a north facing kitchen/dining/living area with a patio facing west and a window on the east side. We went for a lighter colour (slipper satin) on the kitchen units as they are at the 'back' of the room (ie you enter the kitchen from the hallway, then the living/dining area is at the patio/garden end). It is a lovely soft off white and doesn't look cream because of the cooler light north facing rooms get. We opted for Drop Cloth (also F&B) on walls which a lot of people comment on as it looks nice and warm and not too dark nor too pale. Our accent colour on the island/kitchen peninsula is Railings as I have other dark blue accents in my furnishings. If you are going for Downpipe on the island, I would possibly go for Strong White on your units as Ammonite can look quite cold. I have used S White on both walls and woodwork in other areas of my home and love it. Farrow & Ball told me it suits north light well, as does Wimborne White - which is a lovely warm white. Have you tried a sample of it at all? As for the tiles, I much prefer the blanc ones, think they look more modern. I have attached pics of my kitchen and hallway (which has strong white). I also have an instagram page Dekko Bird you could see more pics on. Hope this helps a little! keira x...See MoreSmall north facing garden design
Comments (14)Start with your budget, what is it? Make a plan, gardening is not an overnight transformation, it takes time but that for many of us is the sheer joy of it. A year of all around plant interest is possible in time. I would spend my budget on getting the basics in place, so decide what you want e.g. do you want a patio and large beds and no grass, or some grass? If your local college has an agricultural course running they might be willing to help you as the students would learn a lot here, maybe ask? What is your soil type e.g. is it heavy clay or sandy? Is it acidic, alkaline or neutral, these facts are deciding factors on whether or not plants will thrive. Look at what plants are thriving in your local area that is a good guide to your soil, e.g. if there are lots of rhododendrons thriving near by then the soil will be acidic. If it were me, I would get it all dug up, lay a patio, add large beds (put in lots of fine bark compost), and no grass, just gravel. Work with your site, right plant right place is a mantra for a very good reason (!), there is no point planting sun loving plants if you get little sun so do your research on plants that thrive in shade, one good website is Plantsforshade. I would add lots of trellis to grow climbers as they will give you height and trick the eye into making your garden appear bigger, climbing hydrangeas, star jasmine ( for scent) some roses but choose carefully. Now draw up a year's plan so you can start planting for all year round colour, take your time and it's not daunting. Add attractive tubs (often on sale on our local Facebook!) and and plant appropriate annuals, there is loads of advice on line. Best of luck....See Morenorth facing front garden advice
Comments (2)Hi. To be honest I’d remove the grass altogether so you’d have lots more room for plants. However does your home have a covenant restricting what can be done to the front? Some housing estates have a rule where front gardens need to keep open sight lines, might be worth checking deeds or local council. If you can remove some or all of the grass I think 2 or 3 Hydrangea Annabelle would look lovely. Under planted with a hardy geranium like geranium Rozanne and maybe a few lime coloured evergreen ornamental grasses. All easy to look after with a trim/prune once a year. If you do decide to plant any thing new then don’t plant too close to the wall. Hydrangeas and other shrubs will appreciate more space for their roots. I like the ivy and I think you’ve got it well in check 😊. Pics of hydrangea Annabelle and geranium Rozanne...See MoreNorth East facing garden design
Comments (0)Hi. I’d love your advice and suggestions please. Just about to move from a South facing garden full of roses, lavender, thyme, rosemary etc. to a house with a small North East facing garden. There is a lot of great advice here on planting for lush shade gardens, but I am stumped for layout. The garden in very overlooked and a strange shape. My 4-year-old loves her swing so I’m not sure where to put it - maybe as part of a pagoda would take up less space? We’d love a wildlife pond too....See MoreRona Gray
7 years agoRona Gray
7 years ago
Thomas Hanks